It is with great sadness I have to report the passing of Dr Hasso Niemann,
who was a founding father of atmospheric experiments and mass spectrometry
at the center ­ which ultimately led to the successful SAM experiment
currently operating on the Curiosity Rover. Hasso died peacefully in his
sleep early Thursday, July 11 morning after a brief battle with cancer.

Hasso leaves a huge legacy at Goddard and in the planetary and atmospheric
sciences community with a career devoted to the development of mass
spectrometer technology and using these capabilities to measure the
composition of planetary atmospheres. Hasso¹s career began in graduated
school with rather cumbersome rocket flight experiments and has spanned
the epoch that saw spaceflight mass spectrometry evolve from crude, heavy
laboratory tools to its current highly sophisticated state where mass
spectrometers are now viewed as a primary instrument on planetary
missions. Hasso made major contributions at every turn. Early in his
career at Goddard as head of the Atmospheric Experiments Branch Hasso
pioneered in situ exploration of the upper atmosphere of the earth with
instruments on several spacecraft. He later focused on planetary
atmospheres with first in situ measurements of the upper atmosphere of
Venus on the Pioneer Venus Mission and subsequently the deep atmosphere of
Jupiter with the prime instrument on the Galileo Probe that allowed
fundamental questions regarding the formation mechanisms of giant planets
to be addressed. Hasso contributed greatly to the Cassini mission as
Principal Investigator on the Cassini Huygens Gas Chromatograph Mass
Spectrometer and the Facility Instrument Provider of the Cassini Ion and
Neutral Mass Spectrometer. His legacy continued at Goddard even after his
retirement with provision of mass spectrometer by members of his group to
missions such as the Mars Science Laboratory and the MAVEN Mars Orbiter.

Hasso cultivated broad and long lasting collaborations with world class
planetary atmospheric scientists. He published many ground breaking papers
describing the results of these experiments. Among his notable awards were
NASA¹s Distinguished Service Medal for his career contributions in mass
spectrometry, the Lindsay award in 1997 and the Al Seiff Memorial Award
presented to him after his retirement in 2007. After his retirement Hasso
continued to participate in the Cassini and continued to advise the mass
spectrometer group at Goddard.

Hasso legacy will live on not only with his many planetary science
colleagues but also with the technical teams that worked with him on all
aspects of instrument development. Hasso's interest in inviting young people to be part
of his instrument efforts, his exemplary leadership and extraordinary
work ethic in making the instruments happen, and his graceful and gracious
diplomacy in dealing with the myriad people involved in the projects
were all lessons in being a model scientist and human being.

The Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) is pleased to announce its 2013 prize winners.

GERARD P. KUIPER PRIZE FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD OF PLANETARY SCIENCE:

Dr. Joseph Veverka has made outstanding contributions to the field of planetary science during a career that now spans five decades. He has to his credit a lifetime of outstanding contributions, that, in sum, represent a monumental increase in our understanding of planets and, in particular, small bodies -- the moons, asteroids, and cometary nuclei in our planetary system. As a planetary scientist, he has defined the field of quantitative study of small bodies in the solar system for a generation (a generation populated by his students and many associates). Dr. Veverka is Professor Emeritus at Cornell University and the former James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences and Professor of Astronomy. He was the Deputy Team leader of the Galileo Imaging Science Team, and the Principal Science Investigator in the NEAR mission exploration of the asteroids Mathilde and Eros. He was also a member of the Voyager and Cassini imaging teams and led the exploration of comet nuclei on the Deep Impact and Stardust-NExT missions to Comet 9P/Tempel 1 and the EPOXI mission to Comet 103P/Hartley 2.

HAROLD C. UREY PRIZE FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PLANETARY RESEARCH BY A YOUNG SCIENTIST:

Dr. Anders Johansen's pioneering work on planetesimal accretion and more recently on giant planet core formation has provoked paradigm shifts in a field which for years had been plagued by long-standing problems. By filling not one but two major gaps in one of the most difficult areas of solar system studies, Dr. Johansen's findings represent one of the most significant contributions to the field. Dr. Johansen, currently Associate Senior Lecturer at the University of Lund in Sweden, obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees from Copenhagen University. He finished his Ph.D. in 2007 at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Leiden Observatory. Dr. Johansen obtained his docent degree from Lund University in 2013.

HAROLD MASURSKY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO PLANETARY SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION:

Dr. Ron Greeley was involved in nearly every major space probe mission flown in the solar system since the Apollo missions to the Moon, including the Galileo mission to Jupiter, Magellan mission to Venus, Voyager 2 mission to Uranus and Neptune, and shuttle imaging radar studies of Earth. Passionate about Mars exploration, he was involved with several missions to the Red Planet, including Mariners 6, 7, and 9, Viking, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor, and the Mars Exploration Rovers. He was a co-investigator for the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Mars Express mission. Dr. Greeley was a Regents Professor of Planetary Geology at Arizona State University until his death on Oct. 27, 2011. He received his Ph.D. in geology in 1966 from the University of Missouri at Rolla. Through service in the U.S. Army, he was assigned to NASA's Ames Research Center in 1967, where he trained astronauts and helped prepare for the Apollo missions to the Moon. After his military service ended, he remained at NASA Ames to conduct research in planetary geology. Dr. Greeley joined the faculty at Arizona State University in 1977 with a joint professorship in the Department of Geology and the Center for Meteorite Studies.

CARL SAGAN MEDAL FOR OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATION BY AN ACTIVE PLANETARY SCIENTIST TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC:

Dr. Don Yeomans has been, for more than two decades, the "go to" person for reporters seeking a planetary scientist to illuminate the scientific middle ground between the sublime and the ridiculous. The inevitability of collisions between asteroids and the Earth is a topic that naturally engages public interest. Dr. Yeomans capitalized on his roles as manager of the NASA Near Earth Object Program Office at JPL and a co-investigator on the Deep Impact mission to build a lengthy resume of media appearances, outreach events, and popular press contributions. His calm demeanor and scientific rigor have helped to dampen doomsday hysteria and sound the all-clear on more serious potential risks (e.g., Apophis) when improved observations warrant. Dr. Yeomans received his Ph.D. from University of Maryland and worked as a contractor for the Goddard Space Flight Center before moving to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1976. He is a prolific author with more than 160 professional publications and numerous writings in the popular press. He has authored five books, most recently his 2012 work, "NEOS: Finding Them Before They Find Us." In recognition of the importance of Dr. Yeomans's role, he was recently named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world by TIME magazine.

Richard A. Kerr is a journalist who has spent his entire professional career covering Earth and planetary science news for Science magazine. Mr. Kerr studied chemistry at the College of Wooster. Following two deployments in the navy during the Vietnam War, he pursued a Ph.D. in oceanography at the University of Rhode Island. He has received numerous awards for his outstanding contributions to science journalism. A testament to his unflagging effort to promote planetary sciences though Science is the 2012 article titled "Peering Inside the Moon to Read Its Earliest History." The article focuses on the violent impact history of our Moon as observed by the GRAIL mission. For this engaging and stimulating article, the Division for Planetary Sciences is pleased to present the 2013 Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award to Dr Richard A. Kerr.

The 2013 DPS prizes will be presented at the 45th annual DPS meeting in Denver, Colorado, 6-11 October 2013.

Note that qualifying recent or pending PhDs may request a 15 minute time slot to present thesis results: see the submission form for details

2. Register Now for the Best Rates
Registration is open and early registration rates are available for the Denver DPS meeting through 23 July. DPS Members can save a minimum of $60 by registering now on line or by:
Phone: 202-328-2010 ext. 106
Fax: 202-234-7850

Regular Registration: 24 July - 5 September 2013
Late Registration: 6 September - 19 September 2013

Register by 23 July to receive the discounted rate! Rates increase 24 July 2013.

3. Science Program & Events
The DPS Science Program is coming together. There will be a wide range of invited plenary talks including the following subjects and speakers:
- Voyager and the heliopause (Ed Stone);
- The Chelyabinsk event (Mark Boslough);
- The Kuiper Belt after 20 years : Past, present & future (Hilke Schlichting);
- M-dwarf planets (Phillip Muirhead);
- Seasonal change on Titan (Caitlin Griffith);
- End-of-the world scares (David Morrison, jointly with the AAS Historical Astronomy Division); and
- MSL's first year on Mars (Sushil Atreya)

We also expect plenary talks by the Urey and Kuiper prize winners.

Other events will include a public talk by the Sagan medalist; a reading of Dave Sobel's play about Copernicus, "And the Sun Stood Still" by a local professional theater company; a display of astronomical art, and an art gallery night, organized by the International Association of Astronomical Artists; a professional/amateur astronomer workshop; and a banquet at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

We also expect plenary talks by the Urey and Kuiper prize winners.

The up-to-date Science Program is available online.

The DPS Local Organizing Committee is planning some enriching events for your time in Denver, including the AAS's Historical Astronomy Division (HAD) which will meet jointly with DPS in Denver. There will be a session of invited papers on Monday morning and posters on Monday afternoon, organized and chaired by HAD Chair Jay Pasachoff. Joint activities with DPS will include a plenary lecture on Monday afternoon, and a play on Monday night. If enough people ask to give oral papers, we could schedule a contributed-paper session on Tuesday morning. Poster or oral presentations in the HAD sessions will not count against the quota of one paper for DPS.

The deadline to make reservations is 3 September 2013. Booking outside of our reserved block results in significant increase in meeting costs for everyone.

5. Calling all Volunteers!
The American Astronomical Society and DPS are looking for volunteers to help out at the 45th Meeting of DPS in Denver, CO. We love getting help from undergrads, grads, postdocs, and local amateur astronomers at our meetings: to supervise sessions, help at registration, usher at events, and various other odd (but greatly appreciated) jobs. This is a great chance to meet and mingle with your peers, get up to date on the newest science, and pick up some cool freebies in the Exhibit Hall.

Volunteers that sign up to work a minimum of 16 hours receive complimentary meeting registration, volunteer t-shirts, and access to the Exhibit Hall and all the sessions. We also provide complimentary lunch and parking on the days you work 4 or more hours.

8. Donations
Please also remember to donate to the new professional development award for planetary scientists, the Susan Niebur Professional Development Fund. The fund will provide financial assistance to qualifying DPS members to facilitate their attendance at the annual DPS meeting by offsetting dependent-care costs, either at the meeting location or at home during the week of the conference. In this, its inaugural year, the Susan Niebur Professional Development Fund will support Dependent Care Grants for the 45th annual meeting of the DPS in Denver, Colorado, 6-11 October 2013.

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HARTMANN TRAVEL GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE DPS MEETING IN DENVER : CALL FOR APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

Starting with a generous contribution from William K. Hartmann, followed by member contributions and matching funds from the DPS Committee, a limited number of student travel grants are made available to assist toward participating at the annual DPS meeting. Travel grants are primarily intended for students, but post-doctoral scientists without other means of support will also be considered. Travel grants for the Denver 2013 meeting are intended to provide a supplement that makes the difference on whether or not a student is able to attend the annual meeting. In some cases the travel grant may be requested to cover the meeting registration fee. Preference is given to students who have not received a Travel Grant in the past.

The deadline for applications will be will be 5:00 PM PDT, Friday July 26, 2013.
Late applications cannot be accepted.

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REMINDER : JULY 19, 2013: THE DAY THE EARTH SMILED… WITH UPDATES

On July 19, 2013, the Cassini spacecraft will be turned to image Saturn and its entire ring system during a total eclipse of the sun, as it has done twice before during its previous 9 years in orbit.

But this time will be very different. This time, the images to be collected will capture, in natural color, a glimpse of our own planet next to Saturn and its rings on a day that will be the first time the Earth's inhabitants know in advance their picture will be taken from a billion miles away.

- For photography buffs and musical composers everywhere who like a good challenge, two contests are being conducted in association with the July 19 Earth-imaging event. These competitions seek submission of original materials -- an image in one case, music in the other -- created by members of the public. The winning entries will be included in a digitally encoded Message to the Milky Way that will be beamed into space sometime in the future from the Arecibo Radio Telescope, the most powerful radio telescope on Earth. For more information about these contests and the impressive group of advisors involved in them, visit:

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE !!
The 2013 election for DPS Vice-Chair and Committee is now open, and will close on July 31st 2013. To date only 15% of the membership has voted … You may just have forgotten or not found the time yet, but please do take a moment and cast your vote, it is important for our Division !

You will need your AAS member login ID (which defaults to your membership number), and your password. If you haven’t registered to or renewed your DPS membership recently, you are getting this e-mail because we are using large recent DPS lists, but you may actually not be an active member anymore… So, please take a moment to check your status now and renew if you haven’t done so already. This will allow you to vote and benefit from all membership advantages.

And if you haven’t already done so, renew online at https://members.aas.org/[15] by logging into your membership record. You must have your login and password information.
Also, please take a moment to update your personal DPS member file.

If you have any problems, and for general replies, or if you are a special status (affiliate, etc) write to or call :
Faye Peterson
Director of Membership ServicesPeterson@aas.org[16]
202.328.2010, extension 109
202.234.2560, fax

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REMINDER: SPECIAL ISSUE IN ICARUS ON DYNAMIC MARS

Dynamic Mars from long-term observations

We are well into the 2nd decade of continuous Mars observations that began with MGS and have continued with ODY, MEX, MRO, and our landed spacecraft. Bridged to earlier times by spacecraft observations from the 1960s onwards, and a continuous telescopic campaign, our view of Mars is now one of a planet on which surface and atmospheric changes occur at frequencies of days, years, and decades, a testament to long-term monitoring that continues to this day. At this time, it is appropriate that this record, with implications for Martian geology, climate, atmospheric dynamics, and other processes, be integrated into a journal special section, submitted to Icarus by November 15, 2013.

This special issue is for papers that:
• Include surface, sub-surface, and atmosphere observations, or model results, that are new and a unique outcome of the long-term data acquisition provided by Mars spacecraft and telescopes
• Highlight the long-term implications of processes that are observed and ongoing now
• Are not reviews of previous work

You can send any comments, questions, or suggestions to the DPS Jobs Czar at: dpsjobs@aas.org[21]

A) 2014 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program, now in its 16th year, provides early career individuals with the opportunity to spend 12 weeks at the National Academies in Washington, DC learning about science and technology policy and the role that scientists and engineers play in advising the nation. http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/policyfellows/index.htm[22]

There has been a continual spacecraft presence at Mars since 1997, showing how Mars is changing on decadal timescales. This activity includes planet-encircling dust storms about every 3-4 Mars years and associated surface changes, along with evolution of the polar caps. High-resolution imaging has revealed new impact sites, migrating sand, and a suite of processes on slopes, some of which may involve liquid water. The distribution of shallow ice is much better known, with implications for recent climate change. Manuscripts resulting from these unique, long-term observations will be due at the end of 2013 for a special section of Icarus, so this conference is an ideal time to present the results.

- SESSION: P010. FIRST RESULTS OF C/2012 S1 (ISON): COMET OF THE CENTURY?

Comet C/2102 S1, popularly known as C/ISON, is a sun-grazing comet, originating in the Oort cloud. It is predicted to be the brightest comet of the century and has captured the interest of global professional and amateur astronomers alike. On its initial passage through the inner solar system, C/ISON potentially can become a very bright daytime object as it approaches perihelion in November 2013. Whether the comet lives up to the predictions or not, first results from various world-wide coordinated observing campaigns, including an armada of spacecraft, orbiting telescopes and ground-based professional and amateur facilities will be showcased.

- SESSION P021: POLARIMETRY AS AN INVALUABLE TOOL TO STUDY THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND
Polarimetry is a powerful tool providing a wealth of information about Earth and planetary
atmospheres; solar system objects, exoplanets and search for habitability beyond Earth that cannot be obtained by traditional photometric and spectroscopic observations. This session is open to papers about advances in vector radiative transfer theory (including non-sphericity effects on single scattering); laboratory measurements and instrumentation for the characterization of solar, terrestrial, planetary and exoplanetary atmospheres; atmosphereless bodies; dust; astrobiological markers; and instrumental developments for imaging and spectropolarimeters to be included in ground-based facilities and/or onboard space missions.

- SESSION P028: SOLAR SYSTEM DUSTY PLASMA
Dust has been identified as an important component in space plasma environments in the Solar System. For example, the presence of macroscopic charge carriers (dust) has been recognized to be capable to offset the traditional plasma charge balance. This session will focus on dusty-plasma studies in various environments, including: laboratory experiments, Noctilucent clouds and polar mesospheric summer echoes, the plume of Saturn's moon Enceladus, planetary rings, surfaces of airless objects, and cometary environments. The goal of the session is to compare dusty-plasma studies under various conditions to improve our understanding of the processes responsible for dust charging, altering the properties of the plasma, and the emergence of dust collective behavior.

The traditional method of outreach to a variety of formal, informal, science and non-science audiences has undergone a fundamental change with recent advances in technology, social media and big data, giving way to citizen science with many applications. However, there is also a rising demographics of citizen science users that provide data sets for professionals or inverse citizen science application. The blurring of the data scientist and data user is a shift from the current paradigm of citizen science. This session invites papers on methodology, applications of citizen science to outreach, research, transformative approaches to science education and the future of citizen science.

B) INTERNATIONAL FRANCQUI SYMPOSIUM: WHAT ASTEROSEISMOLOGY HAS TO OFFER TO ASTROPHYSICS
2-4 December, 2013, Brussels, Belgium

This announcement is an invitation to take a look at the finalised symposium programme on our website.

• 22 September 2013: closure of late registrations
• 22 November 2013: submission of project proposals for tutorial

In case you did not register yet, late registrations are still possible until the maximum number of participants of 120 is reached and prior to 22 September 2013.
Accepted participation will be notified after receipt of the registration fee.

More information about the programme, venue and registration can be found on the website.

C) RETURN FROM THE AGU CHAPMAN CONFERENCE ON "CROSSING THE BOUNDARIES IN PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES: FROM EARTH TO EXOPLANETS"

As a result of the AGU Chapman Conference on "Crossing the Boundaries in Planetary Atmospheres: From Earth to Exoplanets," we have launched a new website and listserv. The website includes presentations from the conference as well as several new initiatives that have begun in response to the group discussions. We are also investigating the possibility of a future journal special issue. Please check out the new website, and join the email list if you would like to receive more information in the future:

This 1-day scientific meeting will be held in downtown Boulder after DPS Denver to discuss the latest research and developments in Io science since the 2012 Io Workshop.

The Japanese EUV Sprint-A/EXCEED mission will launch in August 2013 to observe the Jovian aurora and Io plasma torus for a number of months. This workshop will focus on topics which might benefit from EXCEED data and coordinated observations at all wavelengths, though presentations on other aspects of Io science will be accepted if time allows.

The Workshop on Planetesimal Formation and Differentiation will be held October 27–29, 2013, at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, DC.
The first announcement is now available on the workshop website:http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/planetesimal2013/[41]
Further details regarding guidelines for abstract submission, meeting registration, and other logistical details will be included in future announcements.
For more information, contact:
Meeting and Publication Services
USRA–Houstonmeetinginfo@hou.usra.edu[42]

G) BOB LIN MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM

September 21, 2013
Berkeley, CA

There will be a one-day symposium in Berkeley, California on
September 21, 2013, to honor Bob Lin's contributions and influence in
many fields of research and to allow friends, colleagues, and family
to meet and share personal and professional memories. Bob's research
interests were exceptionally broad, and the symposium organizers are
eager to see all of them represented. Following the symposium there
will be a Bob-style banquet at an appropriate restaurant in Berkeley.